Vending-machine



Aug. 6, 1935. H. F. PINKENBURG- VENDING- MACHINE Filed Dec. 17, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 WITNESSES \b/ INVENTO g- 1935- H. F. PlNKENBU RG 2,010,373

VENDING MACHINE Filed Dec. 17, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 2,

FIG. 3.

' Aug. 6, 1935. H.'F. PINKENIIBURGV I 2,010,373

VENDING MACHINE Filed Dec. 17, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 I IIHIHIIIIIHI ll Illll Illll llllllll I illllllllll i IIIIIII I llll'lll l llllll Ill ll llllllll II W/fA/EYJAS; u I INVENTOR Patented Aug. 6, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIEE 8 Claims.

My invention is a vending machine particularly adapted for dispensing newspapers.

There is a distinct advantage in moving newspapers vertically upward to discharge them from a vending machine rather than having the papers piledhorizontally in the machine or moving the papers lined horizontally in a vertical plane, since the weight of the papers is an important item in effecting the delivery thereof as single units. When the paper to be discharged is moved upwardly, it has relatively little frictional engagement with the adjacent paper, and the weight of the adjacent paper tends to overcome any tendency of the adjacent paper to move with the paper being discharged. When papers are piled horizontally and discharged in a flat horizontal position, the weight of the top paper on the adjacent paper tends to move the adjacent paper horizontally and discharge it along with the top paper. If the papers are being discharged horizontally in a vertical positionflthe friction between the first paper and the second paper is sufiiciently great to cause the second paper to move and its weight is. substantially ineffective in overcoming this tendency to move with the first paper.

According to my invention, a cabinet or casing encloses a stationaryhorizontal floor on which the papers are placed in perpendicular flat-plane position. The papers are thus positioned for movement, normal to the planes thereof, by a follower or rear wall having a plane parallel with the fiat plane of the folded papers toward a sta tionary parallel plane front wall, above which is disposed a discharge port or slot. A base, movable relatively to each of the above-mentioned walls and to the floor, carries an elevator or elevator fingers projecting rearwardly, from a position in front of the front or stationary wall, through vertical slots in such wall to a position beyond the rear thereof, a distance proportional to the thickness of a paper of a particular issue, such fingers being normally below the horizontal floor. The discharger or elevator fingers are pivoted about horizontal axes and biased toward one position to lift a paper and move out of the elevating path upon descending. Means are provided for preventing reverse movement of a partially-discharge paper.

An operating handle exterior to the casing has a limited turning movement relative to a shaft in the casing, and is connected, preferably by a system of sprocket chains and wheels, to the elevator to lift the same. The handle is also connected, through a further system of sprocket chains and wheels, a pawl-and-ratchet device (Cl. Elia- 6) moves the elevator fingers laterally to the stationary wall and the pawl relative to the dog.

Hence, irrespective of the thickness of the papers of any issue, the apparatus may be quickly set in accordance therewith to adjust the elevator fingers to the proper position in the elevator space, and repeated operations of the operating handle impart step-by-step feeding movements in accordance with the thickness of the papers. The mechanism operates upon a single actuation of the operating handle to simultaneously start upward movement of the elevators and forward movement of the movable rear feed wall, allows the elevators to move a certain distance before picking up a paper, and stops the feeding movement and continues the elevating movement to discharge a paper to position above the reverse stop. In such position, the upper edge of the paper protrudes from the discharge slot sufliciently to be grasped by a purchaser.

The above-mentioned slip clutch constitutes a safety device whereby, if the adjustment be not set with exactness, excessive feeding movement of the papers is relieved.

Means are also provided whereby the elevator fingers, which are held rigid when rising, are moved out of position, biased against the next succeeding paper when descending to pick up the succeeding paper, locked in this position and released only when they have reached their lowermost or pick-up position.

The operation is preferably coin controlled by a mechanism whose details are not germane to the present invention.

The characteristic features and advantages of my invention will further appear from the following description andthe accompanying drawings in illustration thereof.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a vending machine embodying a preferred form of my invention; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along the line 22 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 33 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 4i4 of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a detached enlarged detail view of an adjustable automatic coupling, located at the lower lefthand corner of the device, as shown in Fig. 2, but as viewed at right angles to Fig. 2 from the left; Fig. 6 is a front elevation of the device of Fig. 5, as viewed in Fig. 2; Fig. 7 is an enlarged detail side View of one of a pair of elements for preventing reverse movement of a partially discharged paper, shown in front elevation in Fig. 2; Fig. 8 is an enlarged detail view of a portion of the elevator or discharging unit, as viewed from the left near the lower left-hand corner of Fig. 3; and Fig. 9 is an enlarged detail view of the structure of 8 as viewed near the lower left-hand corner of Fig. 3.

In the embodiment of my invention illustrated in the drawings, a base or stand i supports a cabinet or casing 2 provided with a transparent lid or cover 3 connected to the rear of the casing by hinges i. A front window 5 is provided in downwardly depending front fiange of the cover 3, and a shutter 5 is hinged to the top of the cover 3 by hinges i in position to cover a top discharge port or slot 8 near, and parallel to, the front of the casing.

A track or guide rail 9 is positioned adjacent to each end of the casing and extends from front to back of the casing near the bottom thereof. The tracks 51 have longitudinal straps or flanges l I forming undercut slots or grooves which form slideways for a carriage having side plates if) disposed parallel to the tracks and to the end plates of the casing. The plates iii have lower edges complementary to and adapted to slide longitudinally in the tracks or grooves H from the back to the front of the casing.

A main operating shaft i 2, parallel to the front of the casing, is journalled in and extends through the plates iii. A sprocket wheel i3 is secured to this shaft within the casing near the right-hand end thereof, as shown in Fig. 2. A sprocket chain 24 connects the sprocket wheel i3 with a sprocket wheel I5; the latter being secured to a shaft i6 parallel to the shaft l2 and journalled in the plates ii]. A sprocket wheel His secured to each end of the shaft it outside the plates iii, and such wheels are connected by chains 18 with sprocket wheels i9 that are fixed on a shaft 29 journalled in the plates iii above and parallel to, the shafts i2 and i6.

The chains i8 have fixed thereto guide elements 2! which slide in slots formed by the guides 22. Members 23 are pivotally mounted on the slides 22 and are connected by a bar 24. The bar 26 is spaced forwardly from a stationary front partition wall or plate 2? in the casing. Fingers 25 are spaced along and carried by the member 25 and project rearwardly of the casing through vertical slots 26 in the wall 27. The rear ends of the fingers 25 extend rearwardly from the stationary wall 2? sufficiently to properly engage the edge of a folded paper.

The fingers are properly positioned to engage the edge of a paper in their upward movement and permitted to turn so as not to mar the next succeeding paper in their downward movement by the mechanism illustrated in Figs. 8 and 9. As shown in these figures, the ends of the member 24 are provided with ratchet teeth 8i adapted to be engaged by the pawls i8 pivotally connected with the slides 2i by pintles E9. The pawls are normally biased into engagement with the ratchet teeth by springs 89 fixed on the slides 2| and engaging the tails of the pawls, which may be tilted, against the action of the spring, by engagement with the stop 82 in the lowermost position of the dispensing mechanism.

The elevator or discharge fingers 25 may be biased clock-wise (Fig. 9) into paper-engaging position, by a spring 28, the movement of the fingers downward past a horizontal or normal position being limited by a stop 94.

Papers are moved toward the plane of upward movement of the fingers 25 by the movable follower or feed plate '38 which is actuated, step-by step, by the movement of the shaft l2. The movement of the follower from the shaft 12 is effected through an arm 2e fixed to the shaft I2 and having a bent end to which a pawl 30 is pivoted by a pintle 3!.

A disk is rotatably sleeved on the shaft !2 and provided with peripheral ratchet teeth 35 which are positioned in the path of the tooth of the pawl 33. The pawl is normally biased into ratchet-engaging position by a spring fixed to a pin 33 on the pawl and anchored to a pin 34 on the arm 2%. The pawl may be tilted against the action of the spring 32 by the engagement of its tail 3?) with a rod 39 fixed in the boss 88 on the casing The disk 35 is pressed axially along the shaft i2 by a spring 33 held under compression by the nuts 35 and 3?. The pressure of the spring 38 tends to frictionally connect the hub of the disk 35 with the hub of a sprocket it loosely journalled on the shaft it. One of the hubs may be provided with a tapered boss Si adapted for engagement in a tapered recess 92 in the other hub so that rotary movement may be transmitted step-by-step from the disk 35 to the sprocket 40. If, however, the resistance to movement of the sprocket 46 should be abnormal, the spring 38 may yield to permit the disengagement of the boss to a sufilcient extent to avoid breakage of the mechanism.

The sprocket id is connected by the sprocket chain ii (Fig. i) with a sprocket wheel "12 fixed to the shaft i3 and journailed in the plates if! at the rear of the casing. A sprocket wheel 4 is fixed to each end of the shaft Q3 outside the plates iii, and these sprocket wheels 2-4 are connected by chains to sprocket wheels fixed to the shaft i! journalled in the plates 58 at the front of the casing.

A movable wall or follower =38 is positioned in the casing behind and parallel to the forward stationary plate 2?. The follower $8 is secured to s and moved by the top lengths or sections of the endless chains between the sprockets M and Mi by bars 53 and bolts 5d.

The plate 48 carries rear-side brackets or bearings 58, near the upper edge thereof, in which a shaft 69 is journalled parallel thereto. Rollers 52 on the shaft is are positioned by spacers or collars-5| on the shaft near the ends thereof. The rollers 52 roll from rear to front and reversely, on rails E i which are mounted on brackets 53 on the casing.

A shaft 5? is journalled in bearings 55 at the lower rear portion of the casing and has a lever 59 secured to an end thereof. The lever 59 carries a pointer or detent Bi near its upper end, for insertion between teeth on a segmental stationary index member 55 secured to the casing.

Short slotted arms or claws 58 are secured to the shaft 5? near the ends thereof and engage a shaft 6! fixed to the plates if! parallel to the of the fingers.

shaft 51, so that angular or turning movement of the lever 59 aboutits pivot shaft 51 is translated into rectilinear movement of the plates Ill. The movementof the carriage plates fill! moves theelevator fingers 25 relatively to the stationary wall 21 to adjust the projection of the fingers through the wall a distance in accordance with the thickness of a paper to be lifted. The positioning of the plates 1'9 also regulates the distance required to be moved by an arm 29 before the tail 8.9 strikes the pin 39.. i

Elongated, laterally-spaced seats or members 58., of angle section, project front to back of the casing 2 from a rear wall 61 to the front wall 27 thereof and constitute a horizontal floor on which the papers or sheets are placedin veitical-plane relation between .and parallel to the planes of the walls 27 and 48.

Near the trap 6, needles or shoet-steel fingers 69 are pivotally mounted on a fixed shaft 10 to prevent access to the articles through the trap from the exterior of the casing.

A coin-control mechanism (not shown) is adapted to be positioned between the sprocket wheel I3 .and a member l3 suitably secured to the adjacent side or plate It.

Elements or fingers ll, (Figs. 2 and?) are pivotally mounted by pins 15, on the stationary front wall 2'1 and biased, by springs 15, through slots in the wall, whereby an upwardly moving paper merely moves the fingers aside but is caught by the tops thereof if it tends to move downwardly after the lower edgeof the paper passes the tops The springs 15 are secured to the wall 21, as by screws 11.

l A spring 83 surrounds, and has one end connected to, the main operating shaft l2, and its other end connected to the adjacent base plate IQ whereby to bias the operating handle 52, and all of the connected mechanism, to starting or inoperative position In operation, assuming the parts as shown to have been released for operation by the coin control mechanism, when the handle 52 on the shaft extension 12 is turned forwardly from the posi tion shown, rotative motion is, at once, imparted to all of the sprocket wheels and chains to start the elevator fingers 25 upwardly and the movable wall 48 forwardly, or to the left, as seen in Figs. 3 and 4. This motion is transmitted to the fingers 25 from the handle 62 successively through the shaft 12, the sprocket i3, the chain M, the sprocket 15, the shaft Hi, the sprockets H, the chains is, the guides 21, and the end members 23. In the lowermost position of the fingers 25, the dog it is held out of engagement with the notches 8| against the action of the spring 88 but is released by the lug or portion 53 to engage these notches soon after elevation of the fingers 25 starts from a position substantially below the floor level of the paper supports :38.

This structure is provided so that, when the elevator descends, the fingers 25 will be deflected by a first contact with the next succeeding paper to turn about their axes and be locked against spring bias against such paper by engagement of the dog 18 with the teeth ill; the dog 18 being released by engagement with the lug 93 at the bottom position of the elevator.

During the upward movement of the fingers 25 to the fioor level, the aforesaid movement of the handle 62 is likewise being transmitted to the wall 48, from the shaft [2, the arm 29, the pawl 30, the ratchet wheel 35, the surfaces 9! and 92 of the clutch 81, the sprocket wheel 40,

the chain 41, the sprocket 42, the shaft 43, the chain 45, and the bar 53 and the clamp 54, thus causing the rollers 55 to ride along the tracks 63, as the wall 48 moves forwardly to the left in Figs. 3 and 4.

The elevating movement of thefingers 25 is continuous, when once started, as above described, but, as seen inFig. 5, when the dog 89 of the pawl reaches the pin 39, the pawl is disengaged fromthe ratchet 35, thereby imparting no more driving force to the ratchet and allowing the shaft to move loosely in the clutch and the sprocket 40. This operation stops furtherfeed of the wall 48 at or near the time that the fingers 25 engage the lower edge of the paper to be lifted. In further operative movement of the handle 62 and the shaft l2 to complete the elevating or discharge movement of the fingers 25, the dog 89 tilts under the pin 39, whereby the spring 32 which was previously holding the pawl against the ratchet, is now thrown over center to positively hold the pawl out of engagement with the ratchet. Release of the handle-B2, whereby it is returned, by the spring 83 to starting position, reverses all of the above action, so that the dog 89 trips under the pin 39 to again engage the pawl to the ratchet and drops the fingers 25 to engage the dog 18 against the stop 93. The action-is thus such that upon each actuation of the operating handle, the papers are fed toward the discharger by just suflicient distance and force to place the paper next to be discharged over the elevator, this feeding force is released, and the discharging movement is continued to pick up the paper and move it free from imposed weight of ensuing papers and free from friction with the next adjacent succeeding paper tending to curl adjacent individual sheets. By removing the handle 62, the rear wall 61 and a few small parts, the interior mechanism may be shifted rearwardly as a unit along the tracks 9 from the casing 2 for inspection and repair, and by lifting the cover 3, adjustment of the lever 59 and loading of the cabinet are easily effected.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A dispensing device comprising a discharger having a member for engaging the edge of an article to be dispensed, means for moving a series of articles toward a position adjacent to an end of the series in the path of movement of the discharger for successive discharge thereby, means for releasing, during the discharging action, the positioning force from the series and means for varying the position of said first named member and the movements of said means relatively to the thickness of articles to be dispensed.

2. A dispensing device comprising an elevating discharger having a member for engaging an edge of an article to be dispensed, means for moving step by step normal to the planes thereof, upright sheet-like articles toward a position in the path of movement of the discharger for successive edgewise elevation thereby each step of movement by said means being proportional to the effective edge-engaging portion of said member, and means for releasing the positioning force of a succeeding sheet from the next preceding sheet being discharged.

3.'A dispensing device comprising a discharger having a member for engaging an edge of an article to be dispensed, and normally spaced below a pickup position, means for varying the effective width of said edge-engaging member, operating means, and means responsive to a single actuation of the operating means for feed-- ing articles a distance proportional to the efiective width of said edge-engaging member, for

moving the discharger toward pick-up position,

for stopping feeding of the articles to prevent feeding pressure on the discharging article by a next succeeding article, and for causing the discharger to continue its discharging movement.

4. A dispensing device comprising means providing a discharge throat, means for feeding articles laterally into the throat, a discharger relatively movable along, and laterally to, the throat, operating means, means responsive to "given movement of the operating means for imparting a step-by-step movement to said feeding means, and means for simultaneously moving said discharger laterally relative to the throat and varying the lengths of the steps of said step-bystep movement in accordance with the thickness of the articles in the direction of feed.

5. A dispensing device comprising means providing a discharge throat, means for feeding articles laterally into the throat, a discharger relatively movable along, and laterally to, the throat, operating means, means responsive to given movement of the operating means for imparting a step-by-step movement to said feeding means, and means for simultaneously moving said discharger laterally relative to the throat and varying the lengths of the steps of said step-by-step movement in accordance with the thickness of the articles in the direction of feed, and having a slip connection between the operating and feeding means.

6. A dispensing device comprising a structure including upright elements one of which is movable relatively to the other and a lower member for supporting sheets in upright parallel plane relation therebetween, a base movable relative to said structure, a discharger on. the base for successively elevating the sheets, a pawl-andratchet device carried by the base, a stationary dog for controlling the pawl, means for moving the base to simultaneously move the discharger relative to one of said upright elements and the pawl relative to the dog, and operating means for elevating the discharger and imparting feeding movement to the other of said elements.

'7. A dispensing device comprising a horizontal floor and stationary and movable upright walls of an upright discharge throat for receiving on the floor upright sheets parallel between said walls, a base movable relative to the walls and floor, a discharger mounted on said base for pivotal movement and elevator movement relative to the base from below the floor and for projecting through the stationary wall into the throat, means on the stationary wall preventing reverse movement of a partially-discharged sheet, a pawland-ratchet device carried by the base, a stationary dog for controlling operation of the ratchet by the pawl, means for moving the base to simultaneously move the discharger laterally in the throat and the pawl relative to the dog, a slip clutch, and operating means for elevating the discharger and imparting feeding movement to the movable wall through the clutch and the pawl-and-ratchet device.

8. In a newspaper vending machine, the combination with a casing having a floor for holding papers in perpendicular flat plane position, a follower for moving papers along said floor, a base movable relatively to the floor, and elevator having re'arwardly projecting fingers and mounted on said base, an operating handle, means comprising a system of sprocket chains and wheels connecting said operating handle with said elevator, means comprising a system of sprocket chains and wheels and a pawl and ratchet device connecting said operating handle with said follower, said last named means including a dog controlling said pawl, a lever for operating said base to position the elevator fingers and move said pawl relative to said dog so as to provide a portion of said fingers efiective for engaging an edge of an article to be dispensed proportionately to the thickness of such article and to move articles to be dispensed proportionately to the thickness thereof.

HEINRICH F. PINKENBURG. 

